Each year, the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduating class honors one faculty member with the Shovel Award in recognition of the exceptionally meaningful impact this individual had on their medical education.
The recipient of the 2025 Shovel Award is Ban Mishu Allos, MD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. She was presented the award at a graduate luncheon preceding this year’s Commencement.
“Dr. Allos is a masterful storyteller and endlessly engaging educator and a deeply compassionate physician,” said 2025 class president Yanelis Diaz-Greenberg. “Whether she’s teaching in the classroom or sharing clinical pearls during rounds, she brings warmth, wit and wisdom that make every interaction unforgettable. She has a unique ability to connect with students on a personal level and leaves each of us just a little better, smarter and inspired than before.”
During her remarks upon receiving the award, Allos noted that several of her mentors had won the Shovel Award in the past, and a few had been recognized with the honor repeatedly during their careers.
“When I first came to Vanderbilt as an ID fellow in 1992, I knew that my supervisor and mentor, Dr. William Schaffner, had recently won the award and what a big deal it was,” Allos said. “And then I met Dr. Robert Collins, whom I had heard of for years, and was so impressed to learn that he had won this award several times. These were the giants of teaching and reputation.
“Later, when I attended my first Cadaver Ball, I watched the outpouring of respect and affection for Dr. Cathy Fuchs, who was the award winner that year. Now, to think of myself as a member of this group of überteachers feels fantastic. It’s such an honor. It makes me want to work even harder and do even better.”
Allos’ family has long ties with Vanderbilt, as her mother, Mona Mishu, MD, completed her residency at Vanderbilt in the 1970s. Her daughter, Kathleen May Allos, just graduated from medical school and will be moving back to Nashville to begin her residency in psychiatry at VUMC in June.
Allos earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Loyola University School of Medicine.
Following residency, she spent two years as an epidemic intelligence service officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with an assignment to the Tennessee Department of Health. She served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Public Health Service, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Allos completed a residency in preventive medicine with the CDC’s Bacterial Diseases Division before coming to Vanderbilt as an infectious diseases fellow in 1992.
Allos is currently co-chair of the Medical School Admissions Committee and the Medical School Curriculum Committee. She is a member of the Academy for Excellence in Teaching, a collective of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine faculty educators who are highly engaged in the educational mission. She also is the course co-director for the Microbiology and Immunology course for first-year medical students.
Because of her experience at the CDC working in foodborne diseases, when Allos came to Vanderbilt she was asked to give lectures to medical students on salmonella, shigella and E. coli.
“I found the energy and excitement among first-year students to be quite infectious (No pun intended!),” she said. “They are so much fun. I really enjoy interacting with students at this very formative time of life and in their professional development. Over the years, my role just gradually increased. It’s the best part of my job.”
Allos shared words of advice with the graduates she gathered from past Shovel Award winners. She concluded her talk with a list of her advice she labeled “Preacher Ban’s Top Ten:”
- Don’t be too confident. Don’t be too timid.
- Be excellent. (Not merely good enough.)
- Don’t forget to nurture your personal life.
- Thriving vs. surviving — It’s a mindset, not a behavior.
- There are lots of ways to do things right — as a parent, as a friend or spouse.
- Strive to be resilient.
- Accept that change is inevitable.
- Medicine is huge. Don’t stop looking for the place you can thrive.
- Remember to forgive yourself when you fail, but also try to learn from your failure.
- Remember to touch your patients. The human touch never goes out of style.
